Improvement in drying-cars for brick



W. L. GREGG. Drying-Gar for Brick.

Patented Oct. 28, 1 79.

FIGJ.

FIG.2.

, N,PETER5, PHOTO-LITHDGRAPH UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM L. GREGG, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN DRYING-CARS FO R BRICK.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 220.972, dated October28, 1879; application filed April 23, 1879.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM L. GREGG, of

the city and county of Philadelphia, in the State of Pennsylvania, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Drying-Oars for Bricks,Pottery, &c., of which improvements the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide a convenient and efficientportable drier for bricks and other articles made from clay, as well asfor various products of chemical and other manufacturing industrieswhich require to be subjected to a process of desiccation, andsubsequently transported from one portion of the plant or factory toanother.

To this end my improvements consist in the combination, in a drying-car,of runninggear, a series of tubular supports for the articles to betreated, and valves governing the admission and exit of steam or heatedair to and from the tubular supports, and affording attachments forcouplings, whereby the car may be connected to a steam-boiler or othersource of heat, and to another car when desired, all as hereinafter morefully set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l-is a plan or top view of adrying-car embodying my improvements Fig. 2, a vertical longitudinalcentral section through the same, and Fig. 3 a vertical transversesection through the same as provided with additional dryingracks.

To carry out my invention I construct a rectangular rack or platform, A,of gas or steam pipes, united at their ends by manifolds a,.elbows orfittings a, or in any other suitable manner, the arrangement of thepipes and connections being such as to provide a circulation of steam orhot air from one end of the rack to the other through each pipe of theseries. Avalvc or cook, a is fitted to each end of the rack, so as togovern the admission and exit of steam or other heating medium to andfrom the interior of the same, each of the valves being threaded orotherwise adapted for the attachment of a flexible coupling or hose, aby which communication may be established with a steam-boiler or otherheater, or with the rack of another similar dryingcar.

Drip-cocks a, one or more, may be provided for relieving the rack fromany water of con- 7 densation that may accumulate therein.

The form of rack shown in the drawings consists of a series of pipesarranged longitudinally and connected by end manifolds, a, havinginternal partitions, which provide a continuous passage, in alternatedirections, through all the pipes; but the arrangement and method ofconstruction may be varied, according to the judgment of theconstructer, without departing froin the spirit of my invention.

The tubular rack A is mounted upon running-gear, consisting of wheels Band axles b, the wheels being either fast or loose upon the a-xles,aspreferred. In the instance shown the axles rotate in bearings b, securedto the lower side of a rectangular frame, B, to the top of which therack A is secured by straps b Such arrangement of a separate framesupporting the drying-rack I deem preferable for use in cases where twoormore cars are to be coupled together and moved with their contentsfrom place to place, as the pipe-joints are thereby relieved fromlongitudinal strain, and convenient means for attaching the axleboxesand couplin g the cars together are provided.

It will be obvious, however, that when desired for the purpose ofreducing weight and cost of construction, the dryin g-rack may serve asthe sole framing of the car, and the wheels can either be made torevolve on journals formed upon the end manifolds, or with or upon axlessupported in bearings connected to the manifolds or to the pipesthemselves.

Vertical bars a or slat-ted side pieces of any desired form may besecured to the ear, to afford lateral support to the articles placedupon the rack.

In the transverse section, Fig. 3, the car is shown as provided withthree separate tubular racks, arranged one above the other, whichconstruction will be found desirable where a large amount ofheating-surface is required.

The pipes of the upper racks are connected at their ends by elbows orfittings a, and are supported by transverse straps secured to thevertical bars a My invention provides a car which is sim ple, strong,and durable, and in its use a material economy of time, labor, and fuelis attained by applying the heating medium to any required number of thearticles to be dried within the capacity of the car as soon as placedupon the racks, and completing the operation thereon, (which may beetfeeted, if desired, Within a closed chamber or apartment havingsuitable apertures for the escape of the vapors,) instead of, as hasheretofore been the case, employing the heat of a kiln, in which a smallquantity of the articles cannot be economically dried, nor can thedegree of heat be conveniently or expeditiously governed and altered.

other heating medium to and from the inte- I rior of the racks,substantially as set forth.

WILLIAM L. GREGG.

Witnesses:

J. SNoWDEN BELL, H. K. P. GoNNoLLY.

